Sorry if this question has been answered already but a search of the forum didn't turn up an answer for me.

I noticed in 'User Control Panel' a tab to control subscriptions. What I haven't found yet is the mechanism by which one actually subscribes to a topic. It's probably right there in front of my face but I can't see it. Also, is there an option to automatically subscribe to threads that I start?

Pick a topic. Scroll to the bottom of the page. Look in the bottom-left corner.

Ironically, when I scrolled to the bottom of the page to see if there was a clue as to which version phpBB user manual I should download and read to get the answer to this simple question, there it was - the answer to my question.

Thank you for your response. You gotta love it when someone responds with "RTFM" when a simple answer to the question requires as little effort.

clarkleach wrote:Thank you for your response. You gotta love it when someone responds with "RTFM" when a simple answer to the question requires as little effort.

On the contrary, Bulkley not only gave you a link to the pertinent docs, but his answer was entirely correct; you should have done a simple search before posting your question. See also: viewtopic.php?f=30&t=47078

While we're on the topic, I came back because I was nice enough to do your searching for you as regards your second question, which is even harder to find. And I was all set to post the answer. But now... do what I did and JFGI

Edit: Just read your posting history. Wow, you really have a knack for motivating volunteer helpers. In just 15 messages, you've done virtually nothing but whine about a range of topics:

It's a wonder that people aren't lined up around the block to help you.

i wholeheartedly agree.but, new topic, new chance, right?

i can say that other forums have an option to subscribe to a topic so that i can view "Subscribed topics" when i log on.i don't have to actually post to the topic in question.this can be very handy at times.afaics, debian forum does not have that; the "Subscription" means one is notified via email, or at least i haven't found a way to replicate the functionality i've come to appreciate e.g. on LQ.